This is the strangest rock club I’ve ever played in, you know? I was wondering where the graffiti with dicks on the wall was. Well, now I know where they are, because I left a few on the wall in there. So the next band here will feel more at home. And now we play. – Vic Chesnutt

If reading the year 2014 feels like you’re living in the future, you’re not alone. Vic Chesnutt died four years ago last month, Christmas day 2009. His final tour was aided and abetted by members Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Silver Mt Zion and Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto. Touring in support of Vic’s new LP,At The Cut, the December 1st Los Angeles gig marked one of the, if not the, strongest I’d ever witnessed Chesnutt live. Both Chesnutt and the material felt reinvigorated and redefined.

In 2012 a one hour documentary aired on Canadian television, entitled Vic Chesnutt – It Is What It Is, capturing Chesnutt and his band’s performance at a house show in Saskatchewan, one month before his death. To my knowledge the entitely of the documentary has not been made available outside of Canadian public television, sans excerpts floating around the Internet. What does exist is riveting and exemplifies the live mojo of the tour’s collaborative ensemble cast. Here’s a taste, and if you’re privy to where one can view the special in full, hit us up in the comments.

This show was maybe a week or so after I saw him on Halloween of 2009 at the Soapbox in Wilmington, NC. I drove down by myself and back in the same night – about 3 hours each way – and I’m glad I did. It was a truly fantastic show and that band was loud as hell as they put the songs from At the Cut and North Star Deserter out for the few of us who were there. I’ve been in awe of the few clips of the Canadian performance ever since I first saw them and would really love to own a DVD copy of the full thing if anyone knows anything about it.

I was at this show too and I’m 99% certain its never aired on television. Michael Stipe signed on executive produce the concert film/DVD and those are the only clips to surface so far. (I haven’t done any “research” on this in a few months, so maybe there’s since been an update.) Strange crowd, but easily one of the top 5 shows I’ve ever attended.

thank heavens there is a bit of this show out here…a few clips for sure.

there used to be a great deal more of this kind of endeavour available here in Canada. CBC has pretty much gone in the crapper (the govt. financed TV/radio network) but we still have very good public TV in Ontario on TVO, thank gawd.

Like everywhere else in the world that has used the political ‘swing to the right’ as an excuse in the past 30 years, we see/hear far less magic now due to the lack of $$$ for the arts.

The 60 minute television version of the show has indeed aired in Canada on what is now City Saskatchewan (Rogers owned)

The concert was taped in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada November 21st, 2009 – just over a month before his death.

The concert film is unavailable for sale at this time in any form but hopefully that will not always be the case. The estate (Vic’s widow et al) have said that they want to put together a longer documentary of Vic’s life / career and potentially include footage from the concert shown in the clips above.

I can suggest joining the Facebook page to learn more when more is available but I think the link is included above once or twice already.